Salina Central opened the season with a second-place finish in a
doubles tournament Shawnee Heights on Monday.

Central had 22 points, one behind Washburn
Rural’s Blue team, which had 23. Washburn Rural’s White team placed
third with 16 points.

The Mustangs were led by their No. 3 team of Stacie Burnett and
Haley Mansfield, who finished first by winning all four of their
matches.

Central’s other two teams each went 3-1 finished
second — Ashley DeTurk and Kelsey Hauserman at No. 1, and Morgan
Haase and Emily Kinder at No. 2.

Saturday, August 30, 2008
WICHITA COLLEGIATE CLASSIC

MUSTANGS HAVE TWO THIRD PLACE FINISHES

Salina Central got third-place finishes from Abby
Morris in singles and the doubles team of Ashley DeTurk and Kelsey
Hauserman at the Wichita Collegiate Tennis Classic Saturday.

The Mustangs placed fifth in the team standings with 54 points.
Notre Dame de Sion (Missouri) easily won the tournament
title with 103 points. Wichita Carroll was second with 62, Blue
Valley Northwest third with 58 and Blue Valley West fourth with 56.
The tournament had a 13 team field.

Morris was 3-1 on the day as were DeTurk and Hauserman. The
doubles team of Stacie Burnett and Hillary Straub also were 3-1 and
placed 17th. Laurel Michel was 3-2 and did not place.

Thursday,
September 4, 2008
SALINA CENTRAL QUAD

MUSTANGS HOST QUAD AT THE MUSTANG COURTS

Salina Central’s Jordan Brown finished first and Sacred Heart’s Moe
Mikinski placed second in their respective divisions at Thursday’s
Central tennis quadrangular. Brown went 3-0 in the No. 2
singles division, while Mikinski finished 2-1 in No. 1 singles at
the newly completed Mustang Courts on the campus of Salina Central
High School.

Hutchinson swept the top finishes in the No. 1 singles and No. 1
doubles divisions, scoring 16 points to take the team title.
Marysville was a close second with 14 points, followed by Sacred
Heart (10) and Central (8).

Mikinski’s lone loss came in her opening match of the tournament,
falling to eventual champion Shayla Roath of Hutchinson, 8-2. She
followed that with victories over Marysville’s Sam Weeks (8-6) and
Central’s Morgan Haase (8-4). “The first match I was a little
shaky but the next two I felt like I played a little better,”
Mikinski said. “I’m stil not where I need to be but the competition
was very good here.” After a first-place finish last week at
the Sacred Heart Invitational, Mikinski is now 6-1 only two meets
into the season. She teamed with Carolyn Klenda to finish second in
doubles at the Class 3-2-1A state tourney a year ago, but Mikinski
will likely stick with singles during her senior season. “I
think it will be good for a change,” Mikinski said. “It requires a
lot more movement and singles is more about placement. The court is
smaller after playing doubles all three years to there’s a little
bit of adjustment there.”

Brown and Sacred Heart’s Chelsea Ellis were both 2-0 heading into
their final match of the day, with Brown defeating Ellis 8-3 to
claim first place. “I was thinking strategic and aiming where
they weren’t today,” said Brown, who also played varsity last season
as a freshman. “In my last match I got the lead early and just
stayed consistent all the way through.” Brown had little
trouble in her first two matches, downing Marysville’s Kelsey
Korperich (8-1) and Hutch’s Ann Conklin (8-2). Ellis went 2-1,
including an 8-7 (2) victory over Korperich.

Sacred Heart had a third-place finish from Hanna Hemmer and Kellie
Pahls in No. 2 doubles, while Central’s Emily Kinder and Haley
Mansfield were third in No. 1 doubles.

Tuesday,
September 9, 2008
NEWTON INVITATIONAL

NEWTON INVITATIONAL

Salina Central’s two singles entries, Abbie
Morris and Laurel Michel, each placed first as the Mustangs tied
Arkansas City for the team title at the Newton Invitational on
Tuesday.

Central and Ark City finished with 28 points
apiece. Winfield and Derby were third with 15 points each.

Morris and Michel were each 3-0 on the day. Morris defeated
Mariah Vargas of Ark City 8-7 (10-8) in the No. 1 singles
championship match. Michel defeated Sadie Lungren of Ark City 8-7
(7-5) in the No. 2 finale.

Morgan Haase and Hillary Straub lost to Megan Myers and Siera
Lungren 8-0 in the No. 1 doubles final. Jarah Cooper and Caroline
Exline fell to Shelby Scott and Kalena Pate 8-7 (7-5) in the No. 2
title match.

Tuesday,
September 16, 2008
GODDARD INVITATIONAL

GODDARD INVITATIONAL

The Salina Central girls finished third among
eight teams competing Tuesday at the Goddard Invite, scoring 18
points to trail only Maize (23) and Goddard (21).

The Mustangs’ effort was led by Stacie Burnett and
Haley Mansfield, who went 3-1 and finished second in No. 1 doubles.
Central also had a second-place finish in No. 2 singles, where
Jordan Brown won three of four matches, while Emily Kinder went 2-2
and took fourth in No. 1 singles.

Thursday,
September 18, 2008
DERBY INVITATIONAL

MUSTANGS VICTORIOUS AT DERBY

Laurel Michel won all three of her matches and claimed the title in
No. 2 singles in leading Salina Central to the team championship of
the Derby Invitational.

Central finished with 26 points while
Hutchinson was second with 21 and Emporia third with 16.

The Mustangs’ Abby Morris placed second in No. 1 singles, going
2-1.

Both Central doubles teams were second with 2-1 records — Ashley
DeTurk and Kelsey Hauserman at No. 1, and Jordan Brown and Hillary
Straub at No. 2

Saturday,
September 20, 2008
VALLEY CENTER INVITATIONAL

VALLEY CENTER INVITATIONAL
Salina Central had top three finishes from each of its four entries
to edge Maize for first place at the Valley Center Invitational on
Saturday.

The Mustangs finished with 19 team points,
one better than Maize in second, followed by Valley Center in third
with 12 points.

Central’s Emily Kinder won the No. 1 singles division with a 3-0
record, while teammate Jarah Cooper went 2-1 and placed third in No.
2 singles. The Mustangs doubles teams combined for a 7-1 record, as
Jordan Brown and Hillary Straub won the No. 2 doubles title at 3-0,
while Stacie Burnett and Haley Mansfield went 3-1 and finished
second in No. 1 doubles.

The Salina Central Invitational, postponed due to inclement
weather on Sept. 13, will be played Monday starting at 1 p.m.
Singles matches will be at Central High School, with doubles at
Oakdale Park.

Monday,
September 22, 2008
SALINA CENTRAL INVITATIONAL

NET GAINby Larry Moritz

Tia Irwin had finally grown weary of
battling both her opponents and the wind.

Irwin, a senior at Salina South, made a surprise run through the
singles division at the Salina Central Invitational on Monday,
reaching the championship match before falling to McPherson’s Casyn
Buchman.

Irwin actually took a 2-0 lead in the final with Buchman, before
McPherson’s talented sophomore came storming back for an 8-2 victory
on a windy evening at the Central High courts.

"I’m happy with the way I played today but the ending kind of
stunk," said Irwin, who went 4-1. "I was seeded ninth or 10th and
all of the girls I played today had byes in the first round, but
that might have been good for me because I got used to the wind.

"When I won the first two games against (Buchman), I thought I
was going to run with her, but the shots weren’t falling anymore

and I was getting tired. But you’ve got to give it to her because
she’s a heck of a player for a sophomore."

Buchman’s victory Monday was her third singles title this season,
after taking fourth in doubles at the 2007 Class 5A state tournament
with former teammate Amanda Gayer.

"I just started playing my game and not focusing on her," Buchman
said of the singles final with Irwin. "I tried to hit to her
weaknesses and play my game."

Buchman’s first-place finish also helped the Bullpups claim the
tournament team title. McPherson’s 96 points topped runner-up Maize with 89, while Salina Central was third with 80.

McPherson had top four finishes from both of its doubles teams at
the Oakdale Park courts. Meredith Marney and Jackie Frentz of Maize
successfully defended their tourney doubles title by edging
McPherson’s Margaret Davidson and Kirsten Holle in the finals, 8-6.

The third-place match was also a close one, with Hutchinson’s
Sydney Ramsey and Shayla Roath slipping by the Bullpups’ Hanna
Heidebrecht and Kristen Reith in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (3).

Central’s top finish came from junior Abby Morris in the singles
division. After being upset by Irwin in the semifinals, Morris ended
her day with an 8-3 loss to Arkansas City’s Mariah Vargas in the
third-place match.

"I kind of struggled mentally today and didn’t pull it together,"
Morris said. "Before today I’ve pretty much played how I expected to
pla y this season, but today I didn’t.

"I’m going to hav e those days. I just have to learn from it and
work harder in practice, and hopefully get back to where I need to
be."

Central sophomores Ashley DeTurk and Kelsey Hauserman, after
losing in the quarterfinals, ended the day with back-to-back
victories to place fifth with a 3-1 record. The Mustangs also had a
seventh-place finish for Laurel Michel in singles, and seventh place
from their doubles team of Stacie Burnett and Haley Mansfield.

"It’s hard to be disappointed when you finish third in a 12-team
field," Central coach Mike Goll said. "But I know the girls had
higher expectations than what came to fruition today.

"We’re at the mid-point of our season now and there’s plenty of
time to regroup. I anticipate a strong finish to the second half and
that we’ll be more than just competitive."

South finished fifth in the team standings with 68 points, three
back of Arkansas City in fourth.

"I’m extremely happy with the way the kids played," South coach
Ryan Stuart said. "We were ninth here last year and today we were a
close fifth, so that’s a really good performance.

"Tia is a senior and today she played like one. She didn’t
complain about the elements and used them to her advantage before
she ran out of gas. But Buchman is such a good player."

In addition to Irwin’s runner-up finish, the Cougars also had an
eighth-place showing from Megan Quinley in singles, while Jill Robl
and Alyssa Kinkelaar went 3-2 and placed 11th in doubles.

"The girls are definitely making progress and we’ll try to
continue to do so through the rest of the season," Stuart said.

Tuesday,
September 23, 2008
WICHITA COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL

WICHITA COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL

At
Wichita, the Salina Central girls tennis team continued a busy week
with a runner-up finish at the Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday.

The Mustangs, who hosted their own tourney
on Monday and will play Thursday at the Salina South Invitational,
scored 21 team points to trail tourney champion Collegiate by a
single point,

Central was led by a first-place finish from Laurel Michel in No.
1 singles. Michel went 3-0, while Lexi Beedy and Hillary Straub went
2-1 to finish second in No. 2 doubles. Rachel Norris took fourth in
No. 2 singles for Central, while the No. 1 doubles team of Jordan
Brown and Morgan Haase went 2-1 and took fifth.

Thursday,
September 25, 2008
SALINA SOUTH INVITATIONAL

SECOND TO NONE

Their two wins Thursday
enabled Kelsey Hauserman and Ashley DeTurk to reach the championship
match of the Salina South Invitational.

It was their lone loss, however, that could prove more valuable
for the Salina Central doubles team during the final three weeks of
the season.

Hauserman and DeTurk advanced to the finals in No. 1 doubles at
Oakdale Park, but there faced Wichita Kapaun’s Megan Schulte and
Maddie Schulte. State runners-up in 5A doubles a year ago, Schulte
and Schulte stormed to an 8-1 victory over the Mustang sophomores.

"They were second at state last year and have played together for
awhile," Hauserman said. "We haven’t played that much together, but
they were just solid.

"It was good for us because it allowed us to see where our
difficulties are. When we play teams below our level, it’s hard to
see

where we need to improve. This lets us see exactly what we need
to work on in practice.’’

"This is good because it will help us know what we’re going to be
up against at state," DeTurk said. "This is what we need to keep
getting better."

It was the third tournament this season where Hauserman and
DeTurk have reached the finals, only to finish second.

"We have this thing where we can’t seem to get first, but we get
second a lot," Hauserman said. "By the time regional comes around
we’ll figure some things out and do well.

"We’re still young and have a lot of time to work on it."

Kapaun, ranked No. 5 in 5A, won three of the four divisions and,
with 40 points, also earned the tourney team title. Central’s Emily
Kinder was the only non-Kapaun champion on the day, taking first in
the No. 2 singles division and helping the Mustangs finish second
behind the Crusaders with 36 points.

South and Maize finished tied for third with 28 points each, with
South taking the tiebreaker of head-to-head matches. McPherson
placed fifth in the eight-team meet with 12 points, while Abilene
took sixth with nine.

South’s Megan Quinley and Tia Irwin also went 2-1 in No. 1
doubles on Thursday, with their lone loss to Hauserman-DeTurk in the
semifinals. It was only the second time this season Quinley and
Irwin were paired as doubles partners.

"Last year we played doubles quite a bit together, but this year
we’ve only played in one other tournament," Quinley said. "I wish we
had played better against Central, but overall I thought we did
pretty good. Especially for not getting to practice together a lot."

Quinley and Irwin faced a fairly significant deficit in the
third-place match against Kelby Deterding and Julie Frentz of Maize,
only to rally and win in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (3).

"We were down 6-3 at one point and to come from behind like that
is tough," Quinley said. "At least in doubles you have a partner to
pick you up and we play well enough together that we can make a
comeback like that."

Kinder finished the day 3-0 for Central, downing Zoie Young of
Maize in the title match, 8-5. The Mustangs also had a runner-up
finish in No. 1 singles, where Abby Morris won her first two matches
before falling to Kapaun’s Abby Stevens, 8-1.

The third-place match in No. 2 doubles matched Central’s Morgan
Haase and Carolyn Exline against South’s Alyssa Kinkelaar and Rachel
Frazier. It was Haase and Exline finishing the day with a victory,
stopping the Cougars 8-4.

Jill Robl had South’s top finish in singles, taking third in the
No. 1 division with an 8-4 victory over Kari Rezac of Maize. South’s
Meredith Holman was fourth in No. 2 singles.

Saturday,
September 27, 2008
EMPORIA INVITATIONAL

EMPORIA INVITATIONAL

Salina Central won the No. 2 doubles and placed second in the other
three divisions to tie Olathe East for the title.

The Mustangs’ No. 2 doubles team of Morgan Haase and Hillary Straub
placed first with a 3-0 record in the No. 2 division, while the No.
1 tandem of Stacie Burnett and Haley Mansfield settled for second in
the No. 1 division after dropping an 8-7 (7-0) tiebreaker to (6A)
Olathe East’s top team.

Central’s singles entries, sophomores Laurel Michel (No. 1) and
Jordan Brown (No. 2) both went 2-1 and finished second in each of
their divisions.

Tuesday,
October 1, 2008
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS INVITATIONAL

ST.THOMAS AQUINAS INVITATIONAL

At Kansas City, Mo., Salina Central’s Abby Morris went 2-2 on the
day and placed sixth in No. 1 singles in the St. Thomas Aquinas
Invitational.

The event featured some of the top teams from Kansas and the Kansas
City metro area. Shawnee Mission East won the team title, followed
by Notre Dame de Sion (Mo.) and Blue Valley West. Complete team
scores weren’t available.

The Mustangs’ No. 1 doubles team of Ashley DeTurk and Kelsey
Hauserman was 0-2 and did not place. Neither did the No. 2 team of
Stacie Burnett and Haley Mansfield, which also was 0-2.

Saturday,
October 4, 2008
McPHERSON INVITATIONAL

McPHERSON INVITATIONAL

The Salina Central and Salina South girls
tennis teams had strong showings at the McPherson Invitational on
Saturday, with Central placing second in the team stan dings and
South taking third.

The Mustangs had 101 team points to trail
only McPherson with 111. Central was led by a second-place finish in
the singles division by sophomore Ashley DeTurk, who finished the
day 3-1. Teammate Abby Morris was fourth in singles, while Central’s
Kelsey Hauserman and Emily Kinder also finished fourth in doubles.
Seniors Morgan Haase and Hillary Straub closed out their high school
careers with a 9th place finishing going 4-1.

South, which scored 78 team points, had solid efforts from its
doubles teams. Tia Irwin and Alyssa Kinkelaar took second with a 3-1
record, while the Cougars’ Megan Quinley and Jill Robl also went 3-1
and finished third.

Both South and Central will compete in the Ark Valley Chisholm
Trail League meet Monday starting at 10 a.m. at Oakdale Park, before
postseason play begins Thursday with a Class 5A regional at Emporia.

Tuesday,
October 7, 2008
AVCTL LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

MUSTANGS "PEAKING" AT RIGHT TIME

Persistent and consistent — Abby Morris
proved to be both on the way to her first league tennis title.

Morris, a Salina Central junior, rallied from a set down to claim
the No. 1 singles championship Tuesday at the Ark Valley Chisholm
Trail Division I Tournament.

It was just one of several highlights for the Mustangs, who
placed all four entries in the tournament finals at Oakdale Park,
had another first-place finish in No. 2 doubles from Stacie Burnett
and Haley Mansfield, and had the league team title locked up after
pool play was complete.

"It was a good day for us, and it came at the right time,"
Central coach Mike Goll said. "We need to be peaking right now with
a loaded regional coming up (Thursday).

"It’s the time of year when you want to be playing your best, and
I think we’re doing that right now."

"Before the tournament started we knew we could win it, so it was
just a matter of going out and doing it," Morris said. "It feels
good, and hopefully we can keep this going into regional."

Central’s 45 points topped defending champion Maize with 36,
followed by Hutchinson with 30. Salina South took fourth with 18
points, matching its score and finish from 2007.

"We’ve been talking a lot about progress, and in every tournament
this year we’ve seen a better finish or the same finish as we did
last year," South coach Ryan Stuart said. "I can’t be completely
disappointed, but I know myself and the girls were expecting more
today.

"Our regional Thursday is, if not the toughest, definitely one of
the two toughest in Class 5A. We’ll definitely have to play better
than we did today and we all know that."

Morris had little trouble advancing to the finals with two solid
victories in pool play, but struggled early in the title match
against

Hutchinson’s Shayla Roath and dropped the opening set 6-1.

Morris took a 3-1 lead in the second set, getting a winner at the
net for game point and allowing her to hold serve for the first time
in the match. Roath was able to make it 3-2 before Morris reeled off
the final three games to even the match at a set apiece.

"The second set I just battled and stayed in points longer,"
Morris said. "I was more consistent, which has been a struggle all
season."

All matches were best of three sets, but if a match went to a
third set, it was determined by a super tiebreaker (first to 10
points).

Morris fell behind 0-2 in the tiebreaker, but won nine of the
next 10 points to take control. That included an ace for a 7-3 lead,
and two more first serves that Roath couldn’t return cleanly to help
Morris finish off her 1-6, 6-2, 10-4 victory.

"That first serve sets the tone," Morris said. "I struggled early
with my serve but I found my groove and I think it effected her
mentally."

"Abby works hard and she deserved some success here," Goll said.
"Burnett and Mansfield played very well today and have been steady
for us all year."

Burnett and Mansfield also had to rally from a set down in their
title match victory over Goddard’s Deedra Richard and Kara Wright.

Much like Morris, Burnett-Mansfield dominated the second set,
then held on in the tiebreaker 3-6, 6-1, 10-7.

Central also got runner-up finishes in No. 1 doubles from Ashley
DeTurk and Kelsey Hauserman, and in No. 2 singles from Laurel
Michel.

DeTurk-Hauserman went to a third set with Meredith Marney and
Jackie Frentz of Maize before falling 4-6, 6-1, 10-5. Hutchinson’s
Sydney Ramsey got past Michel in the No. 2 singles final, 6-3, 6-2.

South’s top finish came in No. 1 doubles where Megan Quinley and
Jill Robl finished the day 2-1 and took third place.

After a tight first set against Hutchinson’s Christie Holland and
Michelle Holland, Quinley and Robl stormed through the second set
for a 6-4, 6-1 victory in the third-place match.

South’s No. 2 doubles team of Alyssa Kinkelaar and Rachel Frazier
also went 1-1 in pool play, but fell in a tiebreaker in the
third-place match, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.

"Megan and Jill played well today," Stuart said. "They were
seeded third and finished third, and beat a good Hutchinson team in
their last match.

"Our other doubles team played pretty good but ended up losing in
the super tiebreaker, and that was a freshman and sophomore playing
a couple of seniors."

Thursday,
October 9, 2008
5A REGIONAL

THREE MUSTANGS QUALIFY FOR STATE TENNIS

Three Salina Central tennis players qualified for the Class 5A
state tennis tournament during their regional tournament Thursday.

Ashley DeTurk and Kelsey Hauserman won the doubles competition
while Abby Morris placed second in singles.

DeTurk and Hauserman defeated Margaret Davidson and Kirsten Holle
of McPherson 6-2, 6-1 in the championship match. McPherson’s second
doubles team of Hanna Heidebrecht and Kristen Rieth also qualified
for state by placing third.

Morris finished second in singles, losing to McPherson’s Casyn
Buchman 6-2, 6-3 in the title match.

Tia Irwin will represent Salina South at the state tournament
after finishing third in singles. She defeated Great Bend’s Alby
Harris 6-1, 1-0 (retired) in their third-place match.

The Mustangs finished second in the team standings with 11
points, one behind regional champion McPherson. South was third with
six points.

The 5A state tournament will be played next weekend at Emporia.

Friday & Saturday,
October 16-17, 2008
5A STATE TOURNAMENT

TOUGH DAY FOR MUSTANGS AT 5A STATE TOURNAMENT

EMPORIA — Salina Central and Salina South did not go quietly
Friday in the first two rounds of the Class 5A girls state tennis
tournament, but go they did.

All three local entries – two from Central and one from South
–were bounced from the winners’ bracket on the opening day, but not
before stretching their matches to three sets.

And all three still are alive on the consolation side with
chances to place.

Central’s regional champion doubles team of Ashley DeTurk and
Kelsey Hauserman rolled past Wichita Kapaun’s Laura Schlapp and
Madeline Engel in the first round, 7-5, 6-1, only to fall to
Gardner-Edgerton’s Kelsie George and Marijana Gjorgjevska, 7-5, 1-6,
6-4, in the quarterfinals.

DeTurk and Hauserman bounced back in the consolation bracket to
knock off Arkansas City’s Megan Myers and Siera Lungren, 9-7, and
need just one more victory today to play for fifth place. The worst
they can finish is eighth.

She beat Lujan Brower de Koning of Aquinas — a doubles champion
last year — 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, then handled Mill Valley’s Lindsey
Buenger, 9-4. She will play SM Miege’s Isabella Maasberg today with
the winner moving on to the fifth-place match.

South’s Tia Irwin also took her first-rounder to the limit before
falling 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to Arkansas City’s Mariah Vargas. She came
back to beat Topeka West’s Ashley Welch, 6-2, 6-2, before falling to
Maasberg of Miege, 9-8 (7-4), but could still finish as high as
ninth today.

McPherson, which won the Great Bend regional team title, advanced
two of three entries to the semifinals — one each in singles and
doubles. Regional champion Casyn Buchman knocked off Carroll’s Kate
Maddox, 6-0, 6-1, in the first round, then breezed past Mill
Valley’s Buenger, 6-1, 6-0.

In doubles, the Bullpups’ Hanna Heidebrecht and Kristen Reith —
third-place regional finishers — won a pair of three-setters,
beating Miege’s Hannah Crandell and Megan McMahon, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in
the quarters. Kristen Holle and Margaret Davidson of McPherson won
their opener, but fell 6-4, 6-2 to St. Thomas Aquinas’ Natalie
Lonney and Elizabeth Close in the quarterfinals.

CENTRAL DOUBLES TEAM PLACES FIFTH

EMPORIA — Salina Central’s Ashley DeTurk and Kelsey Hauserman
rebounded from their quarterfinal loss Friday at the Class 5A state
tennis tournament, winning their final three matches to take fifth
place Saturday at the Emporia High School courts.

DeTurk and Hauserman finished the two-day event with a 4-1
record, including two victories Saturday. They faced a familiar
opponent in the fifth-place match, defeating Hutchinson’s Sydney
Ramsey and Shayla Roath, 9-7.

DeTurk-Hauserman and Ramsey-Roath split four head-to-head matches
this season, with the Salina team winning the last two.

"It was a good finish for them," Central coach Mike Goll said of
his doubles team. "That’s two sophomores who have really come along
and finished strong this year.

"They lost a tough match in three sets on Friday to drop to the
backside, but played very good tennis to go all the way through and
take fifth place."

The points earned by DeTurk and Hauserman, along with those
accumulated by junior Abby Morris with a seventh-place finish in
singles, was enough to give the Mustangs fifth place in the tourney
team standings.

Central, which was No. 5 in the final state rankings, totaled 14
points. St. Thomas Aquinas out of Overland Park won the 5A team
title with 36 points, followed by McPherson with 29 and defending
champion Wichita Kapaun with 25.

"We held our ranking at state with only two entries, so that’s a
pretty good finish," Goll said.

Morris lost her opening round match on Friday in three sets to
Wichita Carroll’s Hillary Hicks, who went on to finish third. But
Morris went 3-1 after the first-round loss, falling in Saturday’s
consolation semifinals to Isabella Maasberg of Shawnee Mission Miege,
before defeating Topeka West’s Elizabeth Kresie 9-4 for seventh.

"That was a great way for Abby to end her year," Goll said. "You
always want to finish on a good note and to win your final match is
a good way to go out."

Salina South senior Tia Irwin closed out her high school tennis
career with a 10th-place finish Saturday in singles play. Irwin went
2-3 over two days, defeating Mill Valley’s Lindsey Buenger in her
first match Saturday, but falling to Great Bend’s Alby Harris for
10th, 9-6.

"Tia really battled all weekend long," South coach Ryan Stuart
said. "She got a nice win over the Mill Valley girl today to make
her a state medalist, which is the first time in at least the last
five years a South female has had a chance to do that."

McPherson sophomore Casyn Buchman advanced to Saturday’s title
match in singles before falling to Nicole Jara of Aquinas, 6-1, 6-3.
Jara was a state champion in doubles last year. Buchman defeated
Wichita Kapaun’s Abby Stevens in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-1.

The Bullpups also picked up points from both of their doubles
teams. Hanna Heidebrecht and Kristen Reith advanced to the
semifinals but lost twice Saturday to finish fourth, while
McPherson’s Kristen Holle and Margaret Davidson took eighth.